


come back inside (welcome to my new life)

by sophwrites



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Meet-Cute, Swearing, but nothing like. super serious, is that even a warning? who knows. just in case, sooooo much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-11 16:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19930795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophwrites/pseuds/sophwrites
Summary: “Shit, I’msosorry,” El gasps, eyes wide.Mike is standing in the same place, also wide-eyed. Just as he’d been about to finish off his sentence, El had come crashing into his back, luckily without a drink in hand. Not that it would have been that bad, he’s only wearing a plain black t-shirt, butstill. He turns to her, both of them looking at each other nervously.“Holy shit,” El speaks again, fiddling with the edge of her dress and staring up at him unabashedly, “It’s Mike Wheeler.”Mike almost chokes on his own breath, making a strangled noise nonetheless. Dustin whacks him on the back to remind him tobreathe.El Hopper is talking.To him. And sheknows his name.Fuck.OR: Mike and El are both crushing on each other from afar, and they officially meet at a party for the first time.





	come back inside (welcome to my new life)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elhoppers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elhoppers/gifts).



> This is for [Sarah](https://elhoppers.tumblr.com), a beautiful wonderful angel and ray of light. She deserves all the kind words in the world, I'm telling you. Not only is she an amazing friend, listener and the most supportive person ever, she's kind, intelligent and beautiful to boot. Don't know what I would do without you tbh! So, so much love for you. So, to my twin separated at birth, this is for you! I really hope you like it.
> 
> This started from the AU prompt: "Officer, Officer, look. My friend's just got a bit out of hand, okay? They're not over the top or anything, I promise you. I'm sober, you're sober -- yeah, they aren't, but at least they aren't driving, right?" As you can see from the word count, it kind of grew a mind of its own!

  
  
  


Mike fucking hates parties. 

Well.

Maybe that’s a  _ slight _ exaggeration. He doesn’t hate them so much as find them incredibly stereotypical. He enjoys some aspects . Hanging out with his friends? He loves that. If the music happens to be good? That’s even better. If he’s had a bit to drink, there’s even a chance that he can be convinced to dance (although the window for doing so is very slim). 

What he doesn’t like is the screaming; the sweaty bodies swarming around him to the point it feels like he’s breathing in water, not air, the humidity clawing at his throat. Cloying and suffocating and  _ typical _ . 

Is this really what all seventeen years olds are expected to do?

Whitney Houston’s  _ I Wanna Dance With Somebody _ blasts through the stereo, and Mike has to resist the urge to laugh. The song is new, he’s only heard it once before, but something about the lyrics causes laughter to bubble up inside him. The idea that anyone outside the Party would even want to speak to him, much less want to  _ dance _ with him, is absurd.

“What are you so happy about?” Lucas enquires, picking up on Mike’s laughter and taking a sip from his red solo cup. Mike doesn’t even  _ want _ to know what he’s drinking.

“Just thinkin’,” Mike says vaguely, mouth quirking at the left corner and trying to brush off the question.

“About?” Max quizzes him further. She’s next to Lucas, his arm draped loosely around her shoulders. She’d been surveying the party, nodding at people she knew from class, before turning her attention to the conversation at hand.

“Steve was right,” Mike says, smiling now, “You can only enjoy these things if you’re shitfaced.”

Dustin laughs from beside him, and Will smirks. Lucas only shakes his head, taking his arm from around Max to tap on his cup. “Better hurry up then.”

“Nah,” Mike returns, “I’m good.”

He looks down at his half empty cup and sighs. He’s gotten the spiked punch to keep up appearances, but he’s drinking it so slowly it isn’t having much of an effect, and he’s glad for it. He isn’t in the mood to get trashed, no matter what Steve says. 

He was their older friend, the  _ King _ of Hawkins High before they’d been there. They’d met him when he started babysitting Dustin to earn some extra cash—he hadn’t made it into any colleges, so he’d started babysitting and working at the Mall to earn money. Mike hadn’t warmed to him at first, partially because Dustin worshipped the ground he walked on, and no one could be  _ that _ cool. 

Mike had just thought he was a douche.

Over time, he’d come to like him, though. Steve kept hanging out with the Party even after Mrs Henderson had come to the conclusion Dustin was too old to have a babysitter. Mike had shown him new music, and in turn Steve had shared what limited wisdom he had about Life After High School. He’d managed to convince the old Chief of Police to take him under his wing, and now he was at the Police Academy training to be an Officer. There’s a new Chief of Police, but Mike hasn’t seen him yet—

That train of thought gets derailed when Mike sees her.

El Hopper.

The prettiest girl he’s ever seen.

She’s wearing a yellow dress, short-sleeves that hug the sides of her arms, causing her bare shoulders to be exposed. She’s got black Doc Martens on, giving a slightly punk look to contrast the cute yellow sundress, and Mike can only smile.

She’s a bit of a mystery to him.

Her hair falls in waves around her shoulders, left to its own devices, and Mike has to stop himself imagining what it would be like to have her head laying in his lap, carding his fingers through those soft strands. He  _ definitely _ doesn’t think about gripping the back of her head whilst they kiss, or his hand coming up to cup her cheek as she directs one of her soft smiles right at him. 

No way. Not at all.

Mike shakes his head. He’s so  _ fucked _ . 

If Mike’s honest with himself, it’s one of the only reasons he’d let his friends convince him to come to this stupid party in the first place. Stacey’s hosting, and they all hate her after she rejected Dustin at the Snowball back in middle school. But she’s popular, and El’s new, having only moved to Hawkins the month prior. More importantly she’s gorgeous, meaning she’d instantly been idolised by the popular girls, thus securing an invite to every party until the end of time.

Mike doesn’t know much about her, but he has to admit, she seems nice. She doesn’t actually hang out with Stacey and her clique, which makes Mike like her all the more. She’s fallen in with her own group of friends, most of them taking honours classes like Mike. He knows she likes fashion, and she’s recently joined the drama club. She doesn’t seem to care that that’s tantamount to social suicide at Hawkins High, which makes Mike smile.

Popularity is bullshit anyways.

Mike knows that, he thinks as he glances around at his friends. They’ve never been cool, and have never tried to be. From playing D&D together from a young age and dressing up every Halloween to go to school, they’d never pretended to be something they weren’t. 

He’s known the other guys for years, growing up with them and practically treating them as brothers. Max had been a later addition when she’d moved from California, subsequently falling in with them when her and Lucas had taken an interest in each other.

Mike doesn’t always get on with her, both being headstrong and stubborn individuals. Nevertheless, they have a quiet respect for each other underneath all the snark and insults, and they both enjoy ribbing Lucas when the occasion calls for it.

Max had been the one that had brought El to Mike’s attention. Not that he hadn’t seen her, but he hadn’t thought too much about her until Max had brought her up on El’s third day at Hawkins High.

_ “Any of you spoken to the new girl?” That was the first thing she’d said as she dropped down in her seat next to Lucas in the cafeteria. The boys had gotten there before her, saving her a seat as they always did. _

_ “No, why?” Dustin had asked, mouth full of his sandwich. Mike had rolled his eyes _ — _ nothing ever changed. _

_ “She’s cool,” Max had announced, to the shock of the rest of the Party. Max giving  _ anyone _ her seal of approval was a big deal. She didn’t warm to new people easily. _

_ “And how would you know?” Lucas had asked, raising a curious eyebrow at his girlfriend. _

_ “Spoke to her during homeroom,” Max had shrugged easily, taking a bite of an apple she’d produced from her bag. “Saw a Wonder Woman comic book sticking out of her bag, so I knew she was alright.” _

From that moment on, Max had spoken to El on and off, and Mike had pretended he wasn’t living vicariously through these interactions. The more he hears about her, the more he starts to like her, and that’s the issue.

They’ve never spoken.

Mike sighs, lost in his own little world. He’s never going to get to know her properly unless he speaks to her, but even then, he thinks sadly, she’s not going to want to speak to him anyway, much less be his friend.

Or  _ more _ . 

“Hey, you okay there buddy?” Dustin nudges Mike gently, bringing him out of his reverie. Mike smiles slightly, nodding and looking down at his friend.

He doesn’t know when he got to be so much taller than everyone else, but he hates it. He feels so awkward, so uncomfortable in his own skin. It’s been this way for a few years now. It’s especially hard when all of his friends seem to know themselves, know what they  _ want _ , but Mike hasn’t been sure of anything since his parents’ divorce six months ago.

_ Not thinking about it, _ Mike reminds himself.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Mike coughs out, realising Dustin has been staring at him and waiting for an answer. The rest of the Party have also disappeared, so it’s only the two of them standing there. “Parties always make me feel a little—”

“Shit, I’m  _ so _ sorry,” El gasps, eyes wide.

Mike is standing in the same place, also wide-eyed. Just as he’d been about to finish off his sentence, El had come crashing into his back, luckily without a drink in hand. Not that it would have been that bad, he’s only wearing a plain black t-shirt, but  _ still _ . He turns to her, both of them looking at each other nervously.

“Holy shit,” El speaks again, fiddling with the edge of her dress and staring up at him unabashedly, “It’s Mike Wheeler.”

Mike almost chokes on his own breath, making a strangled noise nonetheless. Dustin whacks him on the back to remind him to  _ breathe _ . 

El Hopper is talking. To  _ him _ . And she  _ knows his name. _

_ Fuck _ .

“Uh, yeah, yeah,” Mike replies, flustered. He’s glad he’s still holding onto his cup, and it hadn’t gone flying in the commotion. He needs something to anchor him. “That’s… That’s me,” he finishes lamely, internally cringing.

“I’ve heard all about you from Max,” El says honestly, “And seen you in class and stuff. You seem cool. I’ve been meaning to talk to you for like, two weeks now.”

Mike is starting to smile, still dazed and unable to believe his luck. He’s staring into her eyes when he realises El’s pupils are constricted.

“Are you  _ drunk? _ ” 

“Yes, a bit,” El responds immediately, grinning up at him, smile full-blast. Mike almost  _ melts _ . “But I’m being honest. With what I said about you, I mean. I didn’t drink to work up the courage to talk to you or anything, but it helps.”

They stare at each other for a few seconds, Mike trying to process this information, when Dustin cuts in. “I’ll leave you two to it. See you later Mike.”

He raises his eyebrows and Mike nods, waving goodbye numbly as his friend walks away, leaving him alone with El. 

The most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. 

“Sorry, I’m being really weird, aren’t I?” El shifts back and forth on her feet, nervous, but still somehow confident even in her agitation. “I just have no filter when I drink. It’s a thing.”

“It’s okay,” Mike says honestly, trying to relax his body and hold a conversation like a normal human being.  _ What is she doing to him?  _ “You don’t seem too bad though.”

“Well, that’s good,” El nods, head bobbing with force and Mike can’t get over how cute she is. “I don’t want my dad to know I was drinking, I don’t think he’d be too happy about it. It was a stretch to let me go to the party in the first place.”

“Strict dad, huh?”

El just smiles. “Something like that.”

There’s a beat of silence and Mike almost scratches the back of his neck, but doesn’t, knowing it’s such a nervous tell. El is just grinning at him, seemingly content to just stand in his presence, and Mike feels like he’s fallen down into a parallel universe.

“So, how are you finding Hawkins?” He eventually asks, taking a sip of the punch and wincing.

El laughs, tipping her head toward his drink. “Not a fan?”

“Nah, I actually drove here, so don’t want to drive drunk, you know?”

“Oh that’s smart. I got driven here by my friend but…” El looks around, head scanning the crowd around them, but sighing when she doesn’t find what she’s looking for. “She’s disappeared, so I’m not sure how I’m getting home.”

She shrugs easily and Mike is so in awe of her he blurts out. “I’ll take you home.” He immediately flushes, realising how forward that sounds. “Y’know, since you don’t have a ride or anything. I can drop you off—”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” El rushes to reassure him, placing a warm hand on his arm. His brain almost short circuits. “That wasn’t like, a hint or anything, I was just saying—”

“No, no, I know,” Mike cuts her off, feeling them both tumble over their words in the rush to reassure the other.  _ At least she has the excuse of being drunk _ , Mike thinks to himself. “But I mean it, I can take you home, y’know, whenever you want to go.”

“Thank you,” El says softly, hand squeezing his arm slightly, never taking her eyes off of him. Mike feels his breath catch in his throat, completely overwhelmed. 

He’s  _ so _ lucky that everyone else is riding home with Will. Usually he would too, but Mike wanted a reason not to have to drink tonight, since he wasn’t really feeling like going out anyway. He’d only showed his face for his friends’ sake. His plan had been to slope off early on in the night and leave the others to enjoy the party without them feeling they had to take him home.

Looks like  _ that _ isn’t happening.

Mike can’t say he’s upset about it.

“In answer to your earlier question,” El starts up again, letting go of him arm, consequently allowing Mike to release the breath he’d been holding, “Hawkins is… good. Different, but it definitely has its perks.”

She looks at him, and it’s a meaningful look, her lips twisting in a mischievous grin. Mike feels like he’s swallowed his own tongue.  _ Is she talking about him? _

“That’s, uh,” Mike wants to slap himself. He feels like he’s forgotten how to be a  _ person _ , but he can’t help it. Not when El, the girl he is crushing on  _ hard _ , is looking at him with meaning and touching him and getting up close and personal. It’s too much. “That’s really good.”

Mike’s aware of how breathy his voice sounds, but it only elicits a giggle from El.

“Yeah…”

“You’re a very coherent drunk,” Mike throws out there, desperate to keep the conversation going and wanting her to stay here, talking to him. Now that he’s started, he doesn’t ever want to stop—even if she makes him feel like his heart is about to leap out of his chest.

_ Especially _ because of that.

“I’m not really drunk, I’ve only had one cup of punch,” El giggles, “The night is still young.”

Mike hums, scanning her up and down. He can see the blush rising on El’s cheeks at his obvious stare, and he doesn’t know where the boldness comes from, but he goes with it. Her reaction goes some way to reassuring him that  _ no _ ,  _ she’s not messing with him _ , and  _ yes, she was  _ definitely _ talking about him before _ .

“You wanna dance?” He asks, licking his lips. He watches as El’s eyes are immediately drawn to them, and resists the urge to smirk.

“Always,” El grins, grabbing his hand and starting to pull him through the throng of bodies which have accumulated on the make-shift dance floor, close to the speakers. 

They dance wildly, completely out of time and utterly in their own world. Mike attempts to twirl her around, very badly, but she just giggles and goes with it. Mike feels like he’s having an out of body experience, not quite sure if this is happening or real at all, but choosing to just go with it.

That’s one thing Steve had said to him, too. Sometimes parties sucked, but they were good for letting go. Good for you to pretend you were someone else, somewhere else, if only for a few hours.

If Mike gets to pretend he exists in a universe where El Hopper is romantically interested in him? He doesn’t  _ ever  _ want to leave.

Although something in the back of his mind reminds him this is  _ real _ .

He’s full on grinning, gripping onto both her hands in his, both of them jumping erratically to the music. One of El’s friends materialises next to them, holding two cups. She offers one to El, and El’s brows furrow in the cutest way.

He can’t make out what her friend is saying, even though she’s shouting over the music, as she has her back to him. He can read El’s lips though, a cautious look in her slightly dazed eyes as she motions to the drink and back to her friend:  _ Is this spiked? _

Mike guesses her friend must say something like  _ no more than you’d expect _ , because El just laughs and tilts her head, acquiescing:  _ true _ . 

Whilst they talk, Mike takes the opportunity to scan the crowd for his own friends. Luckily he’s almost a head taller than a lot of the other guests, so it’s not hard to spot them a few feet away, dancing in a little circle of their own.

He catches Lucas’ eye after a minute, and receives a jovial thumbs up. Max smirks at him, looking quietly approving even as she dances. Dustin and Will make kissing-faces at him, and Mike just shakes his head, grinning and looking away.

He can tell them all about it tomorrow. He knows they don’t mind. 

Turning back to El, Mike finds them alone once more and she’s smiling up at him, cup in one hand and holding her other out for him to take. He does so, resuming their dancing, although not quite as boisterous so as not to spill her drink.

“Are you having a good time?” El shouts over the music, pulling Mike close so he can hear her.

He towers over her, feeling her body heat close to his. He doesn’t even care about the cloying air, or sweat, or the screaming teenagers around him—all he can think about is El.

“This is the best party I’ve ever been to,” Mike shouts back brazenly, drunk on their flirting, rather than any alcohol. 

“Wonder why that is,” El yells sweetly, stepping back and gesturing to herself. Mike’s eyes follow her hand, trailing down her figure and smirking when he once again meets her eyes. She’s grinning wickedly, and he can’t help but mimic it.

Just then, the previous song begins to die out, and  _ I Melt With You  _ starts to blare through the speakers.

El’s eyes light up immediately and she practically squeals with excitement. 

Mike is falling for this girl so hard, he almost gets whiplash. She’s just so damn  _ gorgeous _ .

“I love this song!” She shouts, and he offers his hand for hers again. El shakes her head. “One second!”

She proceeds to bring her cup to her lips, downing the contents of it. It had been over half full, and Mike just stares at her in awe. He’s not sure if it's such a good idea, but he doesn’t stop her, too excited to see her having a good time. Mike knows no matter what happens, he’ll look after her, and take her home at the end of the night. 

When she’s done, she grins at him proudly, the red punch staining her lips and  _ God, he wants to kiss her _ . 

El rests the cup on a nearby table, abandoning it and taking both of Mike’s hands just as the chorus starts up.

They’re jumping around wildly, laughter drowned out by the music, but Mike can see the joy in El’s face clear as day. He can’t believe that he, of all people, gets to enjoy this moment with her. His heart swells with how special he feels, long past attempting not to get his hopes up. 

She’s here with him now, and that’s what matters the most—he’ll deal with what may or may not come after when he gets to it.

The song begins to come to a close, and their hands are still linked, which is fortunate for El as her foot catches on some spilt punch, almost sending her flying. Luckily Mike manages to steady her, pulling her into his chest to help her regain her balance, which causes her to giggle against him.

Mike thinks he might pass out.

“I’m so sorry,” El says for the second time that night, this time through a fit of giggles. “I’m not usually this clumsy, I swear.”

“I believe you…” Mike teases, and she slaps his chest affectionately, mouth open in mock-offence. “Maybe I should take you home, just to be on the safe side?”

“Yeah,” El laughs, bordering on hysterical. Mike still thinks she looks like an angel. “That’s probably for the best.”

He drops one of her hands and holds onto the other. “Let me just say bye to my friends yeah?”

“Of course,” El replies, as if it’s not even a question. She ushers him forward, and he starts parting the crowd to where he can see the rest of the Party still are.

“Hey,” he says when he reaches them, breathless and still holding tightly onto El’s hand. “El’s tired so I’m gonna take her home. I’ll see you guys tomorrow?”

They all nod, trying not to smirk. Mike gives them all warning looks as El leans her head on his arm, waving at them all and smiling.

“Hey, El,” Max says smugly, raising her eyebrows at her friend.

“Hi, Max,” El responds, almost shy. Mike looks down at her at the same moment she looks up at him, and he feels a wave of contentment wash over him.

Whatever  _ this _ is, he’s not letting go of it without a fight. El’s not even drunk, just buzzed.. She’s definitely going to remember all of this tomorrow, and he desperately hopes she still wants to hang out with him.

“Having a good time?” Max asks slyly, and Mike just  _ knows _ she’s revelling in their joint blushes.

“Yeah, but I’m getting tired,” El says noncommittally, shrugging and still keeping Mike’s hand in hers. There’s a beat of silence as the music plays around them and El says: “Shall we go?” 

He nods, departing from his smirking friends to various calls of  _ bye lovebirds! _ It makes him blush, but he doesn’t look at El at first. Then he feels her squeeze his hand as he weaves them through all the people milling around by the front door, and she has a soft smile on her face.

When the cool night air of May hits him, Mike stops, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He feels El gently bump his side and open his eyes, smiling at her. 

There’s a few people sitting on the wall of Stacey’s house, or on the grass of her front lawn, but it’s fairly deserted. What feels like hundreds of cars line the street as they walk out onto the road, and Mike can’t help but feel the magic of the moonlight casting a glow over their skin.

He glances at El out of the corner of his eye. She looks radiant, swinging their interlocked hands as they walk.

“It’s not far,” Mike almost whispers, caught up in the beauty of the moment—the beauty of  _ El. _

“S’okay,” El mutters softly, not looking at him, but smiling, “I don’t mind.”

They walk for a minute more in silence, and it’s comfortable, and Mike still can’t get over the idea that he feels like he’s living someone else’s life, in someone else’s body. He wants to ask her—why him? But he’s so scared of the answer he’ll get, he’s not sure he can do it.

“Wanna see something funny?” El asks, perking up again after her quiet spell. Mike nods and she gently unlinks their hands, the only indications of her drunken state being her still constricted pupils.

Mike doesn’t expect what she does next.

“ _ OOOOOH I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY! _ ” El screams and Mike’s eye twitches as he realises she’s going to be singing at the top of her lungs. He rushes to shush her but she runs ahead on the path, and Mike pretends he hates this, but she’s too cute for him to put up much of a fight.

“ _ I WANNA FEEL THE HEAT WITH SOMEBODY! _ ” She continues, arms flinging out either side of her to add to the drama. “ _ YEAH, I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY,” _ she shouts, and Mike wonders what the people back at Stacey’s house must think—what the neighbours must think. 

He watches her dancing ahead of him and he can’t bring himself to care, even if she is playing up to her role as the ‘drunk teenager’.

El turns to face him, making direct eye contact from about fifteen paces away. She belts the next line: “ _ WITH SOMEBODY WHO—” _

_ “—HEY!” _

A third voice interjects, and both the teens whip their heads to see the source.

There’s a car, stopped in the middle of the road, emblazoned with the words  _ Hawkins Police Dept. _ on the side and Mike nearly has a heart attack.

_ It’s the new Chief _ . 

Shit.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He barks gruffly, “Get over here.”

She looks at Mike apologetically, but not as nervously as he thought she would. She’s making her way over to his window when Mike feels his heart beating rapidly, a strong desire to protect El.

“You wanna tell me what the hell you think you’re doing, screaming like that in the street?” He says to El, and she looks slightly ashamed.

“I was just singing,” El mumbles, eventually looking down under the weight of his harsh stare.

“That loudly? At…” he trails off, glancing at his watch, “11PM? You’ve got some nerve.”

There’s silence as El folds her lips inwards, and Mike can tell she’s thinking about what to say next. She’s saved from having to say anything as the Chief speaks again.

“Who the hell are  _ you? _ ” he asks, turning his head to Mike and Mike’s hands spasm, unprepared for the interrogation.

“I’m uh, I’m Mike Wheeler, sir,” he gulps, not wanting to lie. “I was just taking El here home.”

“Oh _ , were  _ you now?” the Chief’s tone drops, and Mike’s can feel himself blanching.

“It’s—It’s not like that sir,” Mike rushes to explain. “She’d had a bit too much to drink—”

“—You’re  _ drunk?— _ ”

“—I’m not, I had two cups of punch over like, three hours. I’m fine. Mike—”

“—And she was getting tired, and she didn’t have a ride home—”

“—What happened to Olivia taking you home?—”

“—She bailed on me.  _ Mike _ —”

“—And I didn’t want anything to happen to her, so I said I’d drive her home. That’s literally it, sir—”

“— _ Mike— _ ”

He ignores El, not even registering that the Chief had known who was meant to be taking her home, and how weird that sounded. In Mike’s panic, he ignores the context clues of the situation completely, only wanting to get them both away from the Chief of Police and out of trouble.

His mother would  _ kill _ him if she found out.

“Chief, Chief, look,” Mike starts again, trying to placate him as much as possible. He puts all the fake confidence he has into this speech. The way Hopper’s eyebrows raise in shock completely flies over Mike’s head. “My friend here, she just got a bit out of hand, okay? She’s not over the top or anything, I promise you. I’m sober, you’re sober _ — _ yeah, she isn’t, but at least she isn’t driving, right?” 

There’s silence, which lasts for about ten seconds before El erupts into laughter. Mike scrunches his nose, confused, as he watches the Chief try to fight back a smile too.

“Mike—Mike—” El splutters between giggles, struggling to get her words out, “That’s what I was trying to—to—to tell you—”

“Tell me what?” He asks, absolutely baffled.

She just keeps laughing, and even the Chief starts laughing too, and Mike is so  _ lost _ .

“What?” He demands, almost stomping his foot, but not wanting to look like a child in front of the girl he likes, and the Chief. “What’s so funny?”

“He’s my  _ dad _ ,” El chokes out, sending herself into another round of giggles.

Mike stands stock still, like he’s been struck, the only part of his body that moves is his eyes, going wide and glancing at the Chief.

“ _ What? _ ”

El’s peals of laughter are gaining volume, like she just can’t help herself. “My dad—is—the Chief,” she manages to get out, doubling over and continuing to laugh.

Mike has to ignore how cute she looks, on account of her  _ dad _ , who is also the  _ Chief _ , apparently, sitting in the car before him. He’s shaking his head and laughing, and Mike is going to  _ kill _ the rest of the Party if they knew about this and didn’t tell him.

“Sir,” Mike says timidly, not sure how to respond. “I’m—I’m sorry, I didn’t know—”

Hopper looks at him, eyeing him up and down, but the harsh look has left his face. “It’s alright, kid.”

El stands up then, her laughter has subsided but she’s still smiling.

“This is the Wheeler kid?” Hopper says to her, jerking his thumb in Mike’s direction.

“ _ Dad, _ ” El whines, her attitude completely shifting gear as Mike realises Hopper is getting ready to tease her in front of the boy she likes. That’s  _ him.  _

Hopper just smirks. “You still alright to take her home, Wheeler?”

Mike gasps, having expected him to say he’d take over from there. “Yeah, yeah, of course, sir.”

“You been drinking?”

“No,” Mike responds immediately. “I drove myself here so I didn’t really drink anything.”

Mike notes the look of quiet approval on Hopper’s face, and breathes a mental sigh of relief. At least he’s got  _ that _ going for him. “Alright, well I’m still on duty, so I’m gonna head off. Take care of yourself, alright El?” 

She nods, both the teens smiling in the knowledge that their night can continue after this. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Don’t mention it,” he readjusts his hat, starting the car again. “Now that you’ve left, can I go and shut the party down?”

“Oh my  _ god _ , Dad,” El laughs, “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t do that.”

“I said I wouldn’t whilst you were  _ there _ ,” Hopper clarifies. Mike is silent, mesmerised by this casual exchange between father and daughter. “I never said anything about after you left.”

“Well, you’re the Chief,” El replies cheekily, gesturing to him nonchalantly, “Do as you see fit. Just don’t embarrass me.”

“Whatever,” Hopper scoffs, shaking his head. Mike can’t help but chuckle, they really are so alike. “Radio me when you get back, alright?”

“Always,” El swears, smiling with all her teeth.  _ God, she’s adorable.  _ “See you later, Dad.”

“Bye, Chief,” Mike chokes out, overwhelmed by El grabbing his hand again. In front of her  _ dad. _ Who is the  _ Chief _ .

He’s never going to be over it.

Hopper starts to drive off, and they watch him go. He’s nearly traced their steps back to Stacey’s house along the straight road when he shouts out the window: “ _ No funny business, or you’re dead Wheeler! I’m the Chief _ — _ I could cover it up! _ ”

El lapses back into laughter as Mike flushes. He can feel the heat all the way down his neck and chest, even on his  _ ears _ , and he just hopes El’s thinks it’s cute.

She drags him down the street, leading the way. It doesn’t really register until they’re standing beside his car —how does she even  _ know _ which car is his?

As if reading his mind, El says, “I’ve seen you, getting into your car.”

He quirks a brow, not saying anything.

“Drama and AV club get out at the same time,” El elaborates further, rolling her eyes. “I’ve seen you in the parking lot, I’m not a stalker.”

“ _ Sure _ ,” Mike teases her again, and she hits him gently, flouncing over to the passenger seat with an exaggerated  _ hmph. _ He smiles, tongue caught gently between his teeth as he unlocks the car and ducks to get into the driver’s seat.

She instantly smiles when he looks over at her, letting him know she’s not really mad. He starts the car, turning the radio on and letting it drift over them softly. He’s almost shaking, this setting suddenly feeling way more intimate, somehow. He’s been closer to her physically than her sitting in the passenger seat, but it feels like the mood is shifting under the bright moonlight.

Mike starts the car, pulling out of his spot, and offering her his hand to hold.

El gasps.

He tries to contain his smile, but he can’t. She clearly wasn’t expecting him to offer, but it feels good, when she slips her small, warm palm into his again. He feels like he could hold her hand forever, rubbing the pad of his thumb across her smooth skin. El sighs softly, and he hopes she’s as content as he is.

“Thanks for taking me home,” El offers when they’ve been driving for a few minutes. The only conversation before that had been him asking for her address, nodding when she’d given it and asked if he knew where that was. “You didn’t have to, y’know?”

“I wanted to,” Mike murmurs immediately, squeezing her delicate hand and trying to concentrate on the road. She’s just so  _ distracting _ .

The sleeves of her dress are ruffling in the breeze as the car speeds along, windows down. He can smell her perfume, strong now it’s not being masked by a hundred other bodies around them. It smells sweet, vaguely floral, and mixed with the chill of the fresh air outside, it intoxicates Mike, making him heady. 

When he gets to a stop sign, he takes a surreptitious glance at her, taking in her. 

Her hair has curled, slightly more than when he first saw her, probably due to the humidity of so many bodies back at the party. Her lips are still stained vaguely red from the punch, and the way she unconsciously bites her bottom lip almost causes Mike physical pain. 

She’s effervescent as she turns to meet his gaze, blinking up at him with her doe eyes. 

Mike knows just from that one look, he’d be at her mercy for the rest of his life, if she’ll let him.

“Did you mean it when you said you wanted to talk to me?” Mike asks, turning his eyes back to the road to break their intense moment.

“Oh yeah,” El admits with no shame, “Did Max not tell you?”

“No,” Mike grumbles, “She didn’t.”

El giggles. “I suppose she wanted us to figure it out on our own. She said she’d give me three weeks to start a conversation with you, or she’d just take matters into her own hands. She said you wouldn’t start up a conversation with me first, so I had to make the first move.”

Mike flushes for the thousandth time that evening. He’s going to  _ kill _ Max. 

“I might’ve,” Mike voice is small, but El squeezes his hand in reassurance.

“I really like you, Mike,” she breathes, and Mike’s other hand twitches. He’s  _ not _ going to crash the car, especially not with such precious cargo inside it. 

El continues. “Max noticed I kept staring at you at lunch, so she asked me about it in homeroom. I told her I thought you were cute.”

“Are you always this honest?” Mike smirks, feeling more confident after El’s admission. He’s trying to hide how earth-shatteringly  _ happy _ he is that El even noticed him in the first place. He never imagined that, let alone imagined her sitting in his car, confessing how much she likes him. 

“Pretty much,” El shrugs like it’s not a big deal, but Mike is constantly in awe of her. The more he gets to know her, the more he likes her. And he was already in  _ fairly _ deep before they’d even spoken.

“I like you too, for the record,” Mike lets go of her hand to change gears, and then offers it back to her. She takes it back with a brilliant smile on her face, and Mike is sad when he turns the corner onto her street. 

It’s not a long drive, and he absolutely  _ hates _ it.

Parking up outside her house, Mike turns the car off, but neither of them make a move to get out. It’s not even that late, but they're bathed in the soft glow of a streetlamp a little ways down the road, and if Mike hadn’t thought El looked like an angel before, he would now.

“I had a really great time tonight,” El says sweetly, lips curving into a genuine smile.

“Me too,” Mike licks his lips, feeling the charged energy in the air as El twirls a strand of hair around her finger, flirting with him, a teasing look in her eye. “Do you maybe, uh…”

“Mhmm?” 

“Want to go on a date? Next Saturday?”

“I have to wait until  _ next _ Saturday?” El pouts, and it succeeds in making Mike laugh. “A whole six days? You know how to treat a girl.”

“I thought tomorrow would be too short notice,” Mike grumbles, playing along.

“Yeah, Dad and I always hang out on Sunday’s anyway, it’s his day off,” El grins. Mike’s just enjoying looking at her without having to pretend he isn’t. “Saturday sounds perfect.”

Just as Mike’s about to speak, El leans over, kissing him. He responds immediately, his body by-passing shock and going straight to adrenaline as he tangles his right hand in her hair, tugging gently. She sighs softly as their lips brush each other’s repeatedly, deepening the kiss as she clutches the front of his t-shirt in both of her hands.

They kiss for what can only be minutes, but what feels like  _ hours _ to Mike. When they break apart, they’ve both got stupid grins on their faces. He leans back in, unable to resist placing another peck on her lips, and is contented when she giggles and pecks him again, trading little kisses until she sits back in her seat, putting an end to their pecks with a breathy laugh.

“That’s enough I think,” she giggles.

“Hey, you kissed me first!” He argues playfully, feeling bereft as she opens her car door and gets out.

She circles around to his side, leaning into him through the open window. “I’ll still be up when you get home… if you wanted to talk?”

Mike’s heartbeat picks up. He didn’t think she’d want to  _ continue _ to speak to him. He appreciates he can’t come inside to talk, Hopper would  _ kill _ him, but he’ll take what he can get. 

“Yeah —yeah. I’d love to.” 

“Okay,” El grins, starting to back away.

“Wait, El!” Mike says hastily, “I don’t know your number!”

“Guess you’ll have to come over here, if you want to find out!” She grins still backing up the driveway toward her house. 

Mike scrambles out of the car, frantically rolling the windows up and locking it, just in case. He runs up the path, where she’s waiting for him on her front porch, bathed in an orange glow and smiling up at him.

“You didn’t have to run,” she teases, running a hand down his chest and looking up at him like he hung the moon. “What’s the hurry?”

He kisses her again, holding her face in both of his hands as hers bunch at his waist, clinging to each other. There’s some giggles in between, but they’re both so happy they don’t even care, and they keep kissing under the shadow of night, secret and intimate and  _ perfect _ . 

_ Maybe,  _ Mike relents,  _ maybe parties aren’t so bad after all _ . 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked! Please let me know what you think? :-)


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